HOLIDAY UPDATE GOURMET NEWS AUGUST 2013 www.gourmetnews.com Jelly Belly Candy Company Introduces New Sweets and Gifts for the 2013 Holiday Season A host of new gifts and time-honored gourmet confections from Jelly Belly Candy Company are ready to bring merriment to the holidays, all designed with the specialty retailer in mind. The new Classic Jelly Belly® Glass Jar was designed with contemporary lines and a timeless design and is filled with 14.5 oz. of Jelly Belly jelly beans. The glass jar is an elegant and generous gift for corporate giving, family, friends and just about anyone on the holiday list—all at an excellent price point. The Jelly Belly Classic Jar includes a hangtag to guide fans through their discovery of all 49 flavors packed inside. Passage To Europe Cooking Sauces Passage Foods keeps cooking with the launch of Creamy Beef Stroganoff Simmer Sauce, Spanish Chicken Casserole Simmer Sauce and French Beef Burgundy Simmer Sauce. Each of these European classic dishes is made with all fresh ingredients to ensure the full flavors are captured for a true restaurant quality meal served at home. Originating in the haute cuisine of the 19th century, these Passage to Europe™ simmer sauces are certified gluten-free, all-natural and preservativefree. Each sauce is added to a choice of meat or vegetables and simmered to be ready in less than twenty minutes. There has been such a focus on nouvelle and fusion cuisine that sometimes we fail to give justice to traditional dishes prepared in traditional ways, but they are always a huge success at the dinner table. Restaurant trends tend to dictate what consumers want at home and traditional, comfort foods have stepped out as one of the leading food growth areas of the last few years. More than 74 percent of American consumers believe comfort foods are a rising trend, outdistancing health food (61 percent) and organic food (59 percent) according to a recent Bon Appetit survey. Overall retail sales of comfort foods have been rising since 2008 and show no signs of slowing as consumers have rediscovered cooking more at home and look to find indulgence in products that are known and less complicated. The Passage to Europe Simmer Sauce recipes start with the very best stocks and are blended with simple quality ingredients for perfect everyday meals. All Passage Foods cooking sauces are part of a simple, timesaving, three-step meal solution that satisfies the needs of the time-starved consumer. Each sauce is added to meat, seafood or vegetables and simmered for 15 to 20 minutes. Passage Foods also produces Passage to India, Passage to Mexico, Passage to Thailand, Passage to China and Passage to Morocco cooking sauces. Passage Foods USA is an affiliate of Flavour Makers Pty. Ltd., the second largest seasoning manufacturer in Australia. For additional product and consumer market information, call 800.860.1045 or visit Passage Foods online at www .passagefoods.com. Also debuting this season is the whimsical Jelly Belly Countdown to Christmas Calendar, filled with Jelly Belly jelly beans in the flavors kids love most, packed into 24 small bags, one for each day leading up to Christmas. The generous 14.5-in. tall Advent calendar is poised to be a very popular gift for the holidays. Jelly Belly also makes a large array of gourmet confections specifically for the holiday season, available in bulk or packaged in beautiful shimmering gift bags. New Gummi Christmas Lights, for example, are reminiscent of old-fashioned tree lights. The shape alone makes these gummies stand out among other holiday can- dies. Gummi Christmas Lights come in a mix of four fun flavors: blueberry, cherry, green apple and orange. The colorful confections will brighten parties and holiday gifts this winter. Additional seasonal sweets from Jelly Belly include Reindeer Corn, a seasonal take on traditional candy corn, one of the most popular confections in the line, as well as the highly sought-after Sugar Plums, plump and chewy jells made in an elegant and fragrant plum flavor. Also, Sour Gummi Santas have the perfect blend of sweet and tangy cherry flavor. The perfect gifting options, seasonal confections from Jelly Belly are packaged in Christmas Gift Bags, and Jelly Belly beans are packaged in holiday wrap that brings Christmas pizzazz to the 10-Flavor, 20-Flavor and 40-Flavor Gift Boxes. The gift boxes even include a space to write a 19 personal greeting. And don’t forget to hit all the Christmas bases with stocking stuffers from Jelly Belly. These small gifts have been top seasonal sellers for the company for the last few years. The Jelly Belly TABASCO ® Jelly Bean Bottles are the perfect way for customers to add a kick to stockings come Christmas morning and the new Jelly Belly Buttered Popcorn Jelly Bean Box makes filling stockings a breeze. Jelly Belly Candy Company makes more than 100 flavors of Jelly Belly jelly beans, the largest selection on the market, plus 70 other gourmet candies, including jells, gummies, chocolate-covered treats and seasonal sweets for major holidays. For additional information, contact Jelly Belly Candy Customer Service at 800.323.9380, or email [email protected].